U.S. Stocks Drop With Copper, Oil; Treasuries Rise as Fed Meets

U.S. stocks fell as commodity shares dropped amid slumps in copper and crude prices. Treasuries rose as economic data fueled speculation the Federal Reserve won’t be in a hurry to raise interest rates after its two-day meeting.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.6 percent at 12 p.m. in New York, following a 1.4 percent surge Monday that was the biggest in five weeks. DuPont Co. sank 3.2 percent to lead a 1 percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped from a seven-year high. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index retreated 0.1 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield declined two basis points to 2.05 percent. U.S. oil fell 1 percent, while copper lost the most in a week.

The S&P 500 has alternated between up and down days for the better part of two weeks, as investors assess data for clues on the timing of the Fed’s next move on interest rates. Oil’s plunge toward a bear market damped the outlook for inflation. Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference after the policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed may remove wording describing its stance to raising rates as “patient.”